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Friday, March 24, 2017

my pen puts my tongue in print

The
psalmist likened his tongue to the pen of a ready writer, and interesting
comparison. I would like to take the liberty of rearranging that thought. For,
when I write, and maybe you think this also, my pen become the tongue of a focused
writer.

Now that
can be dangerous or it can be exciting. Depending upon what is motivating the
tongue the words and story written will resemble a fire. It could be words that
warm and melt a frozen heart or wild, uncontrolled expressions which leaves the
mind in ashes. In comparing the pen and the tongue and the results which can be
produced I turn to the Biblical book of James. In chapter three he takes us
through many aspects of the tongue which are negative and nasty. I wonder what
roused him to write in such a manner as a warning to us all. I do wish he had
also said some nice and noble things the tongue can utter. As writers our words are coloured by what has
invaded our hearts, stirred our emotions, affected our relationships or
impacted our belief system. Whatever our genre and however we tell our story
our pen becomes the tongue which reveals the passions and the purposes driving
us to write.

James’ description
of the tongue can be applied to some unpleasant and unfortunate things I’ve
read. This can apply from graffiti to gory and ghastly volumes. But for us as
Christian writers our tongue has been given the ‘soap and water’ treatment.
Actually, that was applied to our heart and mind (1 Corinthians 6:11) and our
tongue as a pen reveals the transformation. Moses had some strong words to say
and record. We can read what his tongue said because his pen expressed it.
However in Deuteronomy32:1-3 is an eloquent use of the pen. “Give ear, O
heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth the words of my mouth. Let my
teaching drop as the rain, my speech distil as the dew, as raindrops on the
tender herb, and as showers on the grass. For I proclaim the name of the Lord:”

There are
times when the tongue of the pen has to say strong words, harsh and confronting
words. However, there is no poison being injected. Paul challenges us with ‘let
your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer each one’ (Colossians 4:6). Proverbs has a lot to say about the
tongue in a favourable way. When our readers put down our writing or story
through all its twists and turns, struggles and sorrows surely they will long
to feel something similar to what Proverbs mentions. ‘It has been choice silver’
(10:20) It reveals the tongue of the wise promoting health (12:18) and it
produces a ‘tree of life’ (15:4). Truly, death and life are present in the
tongue of the pen (18:21) and as writers we are charged with revealing the One
who is ‘The Life!’

May the
pen speak to the reader that which our heart would long to share with their
ears from our tongue. The psalmist put it very well for us writers in psalm
19:14:’Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart [which I’ve put
to paper] be acceptable in your sight.’